The Pentagon says four men were killed in a new military strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific, adding to a growing number of lethal operations targeting suspected narcotics traffickers amid mounting legal and political pressure in Washington.
US Southern Command released video of the attack, showing an explosion engulfing a small vessel, followed by footage of the boat on fire. Officials said the strike was ordered by defence secretary Pete Hegseth and carried out by Joint Task Force Southern Spear, which described the targeted individuals as members of a designated terrorist organisation transporting illicit narcotics along a known trafficking route.
It marks the 22nd US strike on maritime targets in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September, bringing the reported death toll to at least 87. The operations have stalled the Pentagon and White House, which continue to face questions about the legal framework used to justify killing suspected smugglers in international waters.
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The campaign has also sparked political fallout. Hegseth is under growing scrutiny over the first strike in early September, after reports suggested he told the military to "kill them all". A Democratic lawmaker has now introduced articles of impeachment, though the effort is expected to fall short.
Testifying in Congress on Thursday, the admiral who oversaw the operation denied any such order. Lawmakers, however, remain divided after earlier footage reportedly showed two survivors clinging to wreckage before being killed in a follow-on strike.
Legal experts continue to dispute the administration's defence that the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with drug traffickers. Specialists say that even under the administration's framing, killing shipwrecked or incapacitated individuals would violate the laws of war.